I love summer, with their awesome carefree days, spent at the pool, beach, vacationing, camp, and the effortlessness of grilling, BBQ’s, and pot-lucks. However, smack in the middle, come what are colloquially referred to as “The Nine Days.” The Nine Days of Av take place during the first nine days of the Jewish month of Av, which usually falls towards the end of July or the beginning of August.

The Nine Days begin on Rosh Chodesh Av (“First of Av”) and culminates on the public fast day of Tisha B’Av (“Ninth of Av”). During these days many have the custom not to have any meat or poultry. With this restriction, on the otherwise already restricted kosher person’s diet comes the inevitable questions that I, for one, dread year round: “What’s for dinner?”

Not being one to spend hours in the kitchen with an oven or over a hot stove, I’ve made a schedule and included some links, tips, and tricks to help you out during this time.

This year, The Nine Days begin on Monday July 24, and conclude with Tisha B’av on Tuesday August 1. On Shabbat, most have the custom to eat meat, so I have removed Shabbat from the list. If this is not your custom, feel free to comment or shoot me an email, andI’lll give you some meatless Shabbat options, as well.

Monday, July 24:

For those of you already following a “Meatless Monday” schedule, feel free to keep that awesomeness going. I for one will be making Bean Burritos/Quesadillas or Veggie and Bean Chili. Chanie from the blog Busy in Brooklyn does a lot of Meatless Mondays, and has some great ideas, as well.

For something more Middle Eastern, I also cook up a rice “cake” with lentils and raisins , and served with Greek yogurt. Surprisingly easy, and my kids love it.

Ingredients

Equipment

2 Cups jasmine rice

¾ cup dry lentils

2/3 cup raisins

1 tbs Kosher Salt

Vegetable or canola oil

Water

6 Quart nonstick pot with good fitting lid

3 quart pot

Fine Mesh Sieve

Measuring cups

Place lentils in sieve and give a quick rinse. Then, place in smaller pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil for fuve munutes or until just tender. Do not over cook – they will cook more with the rice.

Meanwhile, place rice into the sieve and rinse. Place into larger pot, and cover with water three inches over the surface. Add in about 3 tablespoon of oil, salt and raisins.

When lentils are done, rinse and add into rice.

Stir contents of rice pot gently to combine. Place over medium high heat until boiling. Cover and immediately reduce heat to medium-low. Watch so that it doesn’t over-boil, but do not uncover. Resist the urge to stir!

Cook for about 45 minutes. You want the rice sticky, like sushi rice with a crust forming on the outside.

When complete, let cool with cover off for about 10 minutes. Take a serving platter, or plate larger than the circumference of the pot, and place over the top of the pot. Over a sink or a counter, quickly flip rice over onto the plate. It should come out as one big “cake,” [if not, don’t worry, Persian grandmas take years to learn this, it will still taste great].

Serve with plain Greek yogurt.

Tuesday July 25:

I cant get rid of #tacotuesday so were going to do Fish Tacos! My go-to is this recipe: Fish Taco by Anne Burrell, of the Food Network. You can also substitute your regular frozen fish sticks for the fish to make it even easier!

Wednesday August 26:

Eggs, any which way you like them! I prefer a frittata because I can make it ahead, and it’s good cold, room temperature or hot. My favorite recipe is, of course, adapted from the #whole30 version.

Ingredients

Equipment

6-8 large eggs beaten (depending on how many people you are serving)

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ tsp pepper

½- 1 whole onion diced (depending on your love of onions)

1 – 1 ½ cups roasted or cooked veggies of choice

1 bag baby spinach (optional)

2 tbs olive oil, coconut oil or ghee

Mixing bowl

Whisk

Measuring spoons

Non-stick skillet (oven-proof)*

Set oven to broil, or at 500°.

In a mixing bowl, whisk eggs with salt and pepper.

Heat skillet over medium heat and add oil or ghee, if using. When hot, add onions and cook until softened but not browned. Stir often. 3-5 minutes. Add remaining veggies and spinach, if using. Stir another 30 seconds, until spinach is slightly wilted.

Pour in eggs, and fold using a rubber spatula. Cook for 3 minutes, until bottom is set.

Place into oven and cook 7-10 minutes until puffy, and top is golden. *

This is highly customizable. You can mix and match veggies, add cheese or potatoes. The possibilities are endless!

You can also try Cooking With Tantrums Shakshuka for a different option.

Thursday July 27:

PASTA, PASTA, PASTA! My kids love Wacky Mac. If you have more discerning kids, you can try some of the following:

Serve with a nice spinach salad on the side, and poof, dinner is done!

Sunday July 30:

Falafel! You can of course use the frozen falafel/mixes to make your own. But my go-to falafel recipe has always been this one from Kitchen Tested Crock Pot Falafel So easy, and no frying!

Serve with pita or laffa bread (I like to make my own pita and use the recipe from Fresh and Easy ) along with chumus, techina, fried eggplant, red cabbage salad and fries, if you want to be authentic. I also add some schug but I like things hot!

Monday July 31:

Since this is also your pre-fast meaI, I like to make it hearty yet simplr so that your not thirsty…

Roasted Salmon, quinoa, sweet potatoes, sliced avocado and tomato.

Have an easy and meaningful fast!

*wrap the handle in foil so you remember that it is hot when you remove it from the oven

Most people have heard of marinating proteins, such as fish, meat and chicken. We usually marinate to tenderize foods, and add flavor. I’m not so concerned with tendering vegetables, but flavor enhancement? Now that is something I can get on board with.

Flavor enhancement works in two ways. Most importantly, it adds specific tastes to the food, but it then takes on new dimension once the marinade is cooked. For example, any marinade with a sugar component will caramelize, and offer a certain depth when cooked. Acids, such as vinegar can lend an umami richness to the dish. The list goes on.

Would this work for veggies? I tried my hand with acorn squash and onions. On the onions, I used a vinegar-based marinade, and the squash used a spiced-based marinade.

Squash:

Acorn squash

Olive oil

Cumin

Curry

Garam Masala

Salt

Garlic powder Cinnamon

Onions: (I used red onions but shallots would work too, I think yellow or white onions would offer too strong a flavor to compete with this marinade)

Balsamic Vinegar

Olive Oil

Salt

Ground black pepper

Cut the acorn squash into crescents, and place into a zip-top bag with the marinade ingredients. No measurements, just eyeballed by taste.

Onions were peeled and cut in half, then placed in a zip-top bag with the marinade ingredients. Equal parts of oil and vinegar were used.

Results:

First, I can tell you this was a huge time saver – I’m talking about a game-changer. I marinated these late Thursday, when I didn’t want to stay up to roast them. The next day, I whipped them out and cooked them. No mess, no fuss, and fresh-roasted veggies. A win all around!

Secondly, the onions were a home run. Overnight, the acid in the vinegar softened the onions a little, took out some of the pungent flavor, and seeped inbetween the layers to coat every part with its goodness. After roasting at a high-heat (450˚), thevinegar caramelized, which only heightened the sweetness of the roasted onions. This is going heavily into my cooking rotation, and to top it off, they looked so pretty.

Thirdly, I didn’t notice anything majorly game-changing in marination of the squash, other than ease. The same flavors probably could have been accomplished had I just tossed everything together in a huge mixing bowl. But still, sometimes ease wins out.

And finally, when roasting veggies, remember to use a super-high temperature. Keep an eye on them, and most importantly, SPREAD THEM OUT. They need room to breathe and air to circulate in order to achieve that crispy exterior everyone loves.

If your house is anything like mine, you are still wading through what feels like a never-ending pile of leftover Purim candy and nosh. This recipe will put some of that candy to good use. It’s even simple enough to enlist the kid’s help! It infinitely customizable, so feel free to go wild! (And of course, comment and tag me in your splendid creations).

Ingredients:

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter or margarine softened (You can microwave it for about 30 seconds, or leave out at room temperature for an hour).

½ cup vegetable oil

1 cup lightly packed brown sugar*

3/4 ciup granulated sugar

2 whole eggs, plus 1 extra egg yolk

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 ½ cups flour

1 cup cocoa powder

2 tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

Mix-Ins (Choose 2-3 for a total of 1 ¾ cups of mix ins):

¾ cup chocolate chips (I used white chocolate)

¾ cup caramel chips

¾ cup peanut butter chips

½ cup chopped nuts

1 cup chopped candy and/or candy bars

1 cup non-pariels (my choice this time)

1 cup popcorn (caramel or chocolate covered would be amazing)

Tools:

2-3 baking sheets

Parchment paper, or silpat liners

Mixing bowls (One should be microwave safe if using to melt margarine)

Handheld or stand mixer

Measuring cups and spoons

Spatula or mixing spoon

Cookie or ice cream scoop

Wire drying rack

Kids!

Pre-heat oven to 350°, and line baking sheets with parchment paper or silpat liners.

Using the spatula or spoon, add in mix-ins of choice. Dough will be stiff and hard to mix.

Using the scoop, shape into evenly-sized balls and place on prepared cookie sheets, spacing them about one inch apart.

Cookies will not flatten while cooking, so use the spatula flatten slightly if a flatter cookie is preferred.

Bake for 15 minutes. They will be soft when you take them out, but they will harden once you cool them. This may need to be done in several batches, depending on the size of your oven, baking sheets and scoop.

Once cool enough to touch, remove to wire rack.

After completely cooled, store in an airtight container up to one week. These cookies are freezer friendly, up to about three months.

Depending on age and ability, kids can help out with most of the steps, so get them involved! They usually are eager to help. Working through recipes can help strengthen reading and math skills, as well as hand coordination in younger children.

*TIP: If your brown sugar has hardened, you can microwave it in increments of 30 seconds to re-soften it. But watch it, since over heating can cause it to seize up further. To keep it soft, make sure you store it in an air-tight container. I also use one of these brown sugar keepers which really do work! The old wive’s tale of leaving a piece of bread in the container has never worked for me.

]]>https://glitterandspice.blog/2017/03/28/purim-leftover-cookies-ie-candy-crush-cookies/feed/0IMG_2269glitterandspiceelanaIMG_2273No Such Thing as Too Many Spices (or Shoes)https://glitterandspice.blog/2017/03/17/no-such-thing-as-too-many-spices-or-shoes/
https://glitterandspice.blog/2017/03/17/no-such-thing-as-too-many-spices-or-shoes/#commentsFri, 17 Mar 2017 12:23:47 +0000http://glitterandspice.blog/?p=93Continue reading No Such Thing as Too Many Spices (or Shoes)]]>With Purim over, we turn our attention to Passover. I have been meaning to tackle the black hole known as my spice rack for ages. I easily have over fifty, and I’m pretty sure that’s excessive, even for me.

The Before Photos:

Let the Reaping Begin:

My goal here is to pare down to the necessities, and some “nice-to-haves.” For the purposes of this post, I’m defining spices as ground seasonings. I am not including anything liquid or whole, such as seeds – I’ll save that for another post. As always, this list should be customized and personalized to fit your needs.

Must-Haves:

Salt (I have kosher salt, sea salt, table salt, and pink salt; but really, kosher salt and sea salt are all you need).

Ground black pepper (I prefer a medium grind).

Granulated garlic

Granulated onion

Sweet paprika

Cinnamon

Dried parsley (a girl needs her shortcuts!)

Ground mustard (mustard

powder)

Splurge: Pereg-brand Mixed Spices for Chicken* (I use this on EVERYTHING, though I usually make my own spice mixes – this is the exception to the rule).

What didn’t make the cut for me:

Let me know in the comments what your must-haves are, or if you think I left something out.

*Disclaimer: I have not been paid to feature any of the brands noted in this post. They are just what I use and love.

]]>https://glitterandspice.blog/2017/03/17/no-such-thing-as-too-many-spices-or-shoes/feed/1IMG_2258glitterandspiceelanaIMG_2255IMG_2256IMG_2258IMG_2259IMG_2260IMG_2261Pretzel-Taschen!!!https://glitterandspice.blog/2017/03/09/pretzel-taschen/
https://glitterandspice.blog/2017/03/09/pretzel-taschen/#commentsThu, 09 Mar 2017 03:43:02 +0000http://glitterandspice.blog/?p=43Continue reading Pretzel-Taschen!!!]]>As a self-proclaimed “Purimaholic,” I get super excited running up to the holiday. Themed shalach manot, coordinating family costumes, and even explanatory poems to expand upon the family’s coordinated effort theme all feature in our home.

Yeah I’m that gal.

So what’s a more fitting way to launch my blog than jumping onto the hamentaschen-hack bandwagon?

Drum roll please, as I present to you:

The PRETZEL-TASCHEN!

Yes, yes, you read that correctly. I combined the beauty of a soft pretzel, with the timelessness of the triangle shaped cookie.

My recipe is based off of Rene Muller’s recipe for Pretzel Sausages, found in her new cookbook Our Table.

Make sure you fit your mixer with a dough hook. You really do need a stand mixer for this recipe. Your hand-held mixer will not have enough power, not to mention that most can’t withstand the type of arm workout that the job demands.

In the mixer bowl, combine water and sugar, and mix to combine. Sprinkle yeast over the top, and cover with the towel. Wait about ten minutes to allow yeast to proof. It should look foamy, which means the yeast is alive and will allow the dough to rise. (If it’s not foamy after ten minutes, start again with new yeast.)

Once your yeast has proofed, add flour, salt, and melted margarine. Mix on low speed until combined. Increase speed to medium, and knead until a smooth ball is formed, and dough pulls away from the side. The dough will be a bit sticky.

Place the mixture into second, clean mixing bowl, and cover with plastic wrap. Let it rise for about an hour in a warm, dark place until doubled in size.

Once it has doubled, bring water and baking soda to a rolling boil in a large pot. Preheat oven to 425°, and line baking sheets with parchment paper.

After the dough has risen, portion out into golf ball-sized rounds. Roll each round into a long ropes that are slightly tapered at the ends, and fatter in the middle.

To shape the Pretzel-taschen, take the long strands and loop together into an “O” shape. Then pinch the “joint” to create the top corner of a triangle, and meld the loop on the bottom left and right into corners to create a triangle shape. Don’t worry about flattening the dough. You need to pinch hard to make sure they keep their shape.

Once shaped, drop a few at a time into the boiling water mixture for about 30 seconds. Do not overcrowd. Using the slotted spoon, strain out and place on prepared baking sheets.

Brush with beaten egg, and sprinkle with topping of choice. Bake for 10-12 minutes until a nice, deep golden color is achieved. Keep in mind sugar or cinnamon will make this happen quicker, so test touch, and make sure it feels done.

Serve warm with assorted dipping sauces, or enjoy plain.

To Freeze:

Once cooled, place on baking sheets in freezer. Freeze flat, and once frozen, store in ziptop bags to freeze for long-term storage. To defrost or reheat: Sprinkle with a little water, and bake at 300° oven until warmed through.